Classic Macon meat-and-three serves up dishes that remind you of grandma’s Sunday cooking

As reporter Jenna Eason ran down Oglethorpe Street on her morning jog to Tattnall Square Park during her time as a Mercer University student, her stomach began to growl as she passed the Bears Den.

The kitchen would already be preparing food at 5:30 a.m. for the lunch rush, and she slowed down to read the hours of the restaurant before trucking up the hill to cross over the bridge (or at least, that was her excuse).

The Bears Den has made the Beall’s Hill neighborhood smell like mama’s homecooking for 30 years.

The restaurant has won several awards including different categories in The Telegraph’s Best of the Best competition for nine years in a row, according to their website.

In this year’s competition, the Bears Den won the categories of “Best Cafeteria,” “Best Caterer,” “Best Country Cooking” and “Best Fried Chicken,” along with being the runner up in the “Best Place for Lunch” and an honorable mention in “Best Restaurant.”

We decided to drop by the Bears Den for #FoodieFriday. Here’s our thoughts on the Macon classic.

Entrees

The menu here changes daily, but fried chicken and chicken tenders can be ordered every day of the week. Some of the highlight dishes include baked chicken, meatloaf and country fried steak.

Justin opted for the chicken tenders. These are lightly battered and fried. Few places get these right quite like the Bears Den. The chicken itself is tender and juicy, and each order comes with four or five strips which often means leftovers.

Jenna went with chicken and dumplings, served every Tuesday and Thursday. The serving is plentiful with gravy nearly spilling over the top of the huge bowl. This is the perfect dish for a cold day and a reminder of the kind that grandma makes in her kitchen every fall. These have little bits of onion that add some extra flavor. The chicken is tender and (unlike some places) the Bears Den loads this dish up with it. Some places tend to heavily favor the dumpling side of the dish, but here you really feel like you’re getting your money’s worth with the amount of chicken.

Sides

Sides, like the entrees, change daily. But one thing that doesn’t change is the macaroni and cheese. Justin went with a side of that and a side of dumplings for a meat-and-two meal. The macaroni has lots of cheese and is baked on top so that it has some crunchy-cheesy goodness. The dumplings were the same recipe as the entree, just a smaller portion. That works out well for people (like Justin) who want to try a little bit of everything or can’t decide what to order.

Jenna went with potato salad and butter beans. The beans were well-seasoned and paired well with the bowl of dumplings. The potato salad offered a change of pace with the rest of the meal being rather warm. The cold potato salad had a good flavor overall and would go really well with most anything on the menu but might be best with the chicken tenders.

Dessert

They offer a variety of dessert options from cobblers to cake and pies to puddings. Justin went with the banana pudding, one of his favorite desserts ever and the Bears Den may have the best version. They nail the banana-to-wafer ratio, which is a rare find. This is just right and provides a great taste. It is a bit of a filling dessert though and one that you have to save room for.

Jenna went with the pecan pie and said it was the best she had ever had before — it’s nice to see a pecan pie actually loaded with pecans. Overall, it is hard to go wrong with any of the dessert choices here.

Cost

Meat-and-two: $8.99

Desserts: Varies, but on average $1.99

The Bears Den

Location: 1191 Oglethorpe Street, Macon.

Hours: Monday- Friday 10:30 a.m.-3 p.m. (Dine-in); 10:30 a.m.-6 p.m. (take out)

Price range: $7-$14